Impulse-motor.



L. R. McDONALD.

IMPULSE MOTOR.

APPLICATION mcp v4.29. m5.

Patented June 19, 1917.

lNl/EIVTUR M WKWM WWW A TTORNEY8 UNITED s iigrENT OFFICE.

LEsLIE RQ'MoDONALD, or MONTREAL, CANADA, ASSIGNOR 'IO MOTION nIsrLAY CORPORATION, a CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

IMPULSE-MOTOR.

Application filed J anuary 29, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LESLIE R. MCDONALD, a citizen of the United States, residing at and whose post-oflice address is 10 1 City declare the following to be a full, clear,and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Theobject of my invention is to produce a cheap and durable impulse motor consuming little power and capable of driving a driven member at a uniform, and, if desired, at a very slow speed, with considerable torque. Such a motor is peculiarly adapted to the driving of advertising devices such as movable signs, rotary or. reciprocatingdisplay tables, and the like.

In the preferred form of the invention the motor is electromagnetically actuated, adapting it to use in all places where the motor can be plugged into an incandescent lamp socket.

In carrying out my invention I make use of flexible impeller fingers positioned to make frictional. engagement with the driven member of the motor, and bent in the intended direction of drive; together with means for vibrating the impeller fingers in a plane at right angles to the intended direc 'tion of drive to impart rapidly repeated impelling impulses to the driven member.

In the drawings which illustrate a suitable embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the motorshowing the impeller fingers and their relation tothe driven member; Fig. 2 is a side elevation and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation; and Fig. 4; is a sectional plan on the line l4 of Fig. 1; Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic illustrations of the action of the impeller fingers, and Fig. 7 is a diagram of the circuit connections.

The driven member 1 of the motor, which may have the form of a disk, plate, belt, or of any other form suitable to the purpose in hand, is, in the form illustrated, engaged on its opposite sides by two pairs of impeller fingers 22, 33, each pair of impeller fingers being carried by a carrie' 4c or 5. These carriers, as shown in Figs. 2 and 1, are counterparts of one another, but are re- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 19, 191?.

Serial No. 4,984

versed and secured respectively to the motor members 6 and 7. These motor members are carried by a spring plate 8 having depending aprons 9 and 10 attached to the motor members 6 and 7 respectively, and a depend ng apron 11 adapted to be attached to a suitable support for the motor, as indicated in Fig. 1. The horizontal portion of the plate 8 is clamped between an under plate 12, which is relatively stiff, and an overlying bowed spring plate 13, and by means of the screw bolt 14 and nut 15 the plates 12 and 13 may be clamped upon the plate 8 to increase its stiffness, and thereby oppose a greater force to the movement of the motor members.

In the form of the invention shown the means for moving the motor member is electromagnetic, and comprises magnetizing coils 16 and 17 wound upon the motor mem- Y bers 6 and 7 which are made up of soft iron laminations. These magnetizing coils are intended to be excited by Suitable electric current, which may be derived from an incandescent lamp socket, for example, and they are shunted as. indicated in T, by a pair of vibrating contacts 1849, carried by and movable with the motor members.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Upon turning on the electric current the motor members 6 and 7 are magnetized by the exciting coils l6 and 17 which are wound in such direction as to cause the motor members to attract one another and to move together attheir lower ends, flexing the plate 8, and moving one of the pair of impeller fingers 2 toward the driven member 1, and the other away therefrom, and at the same timemoving one of the pair of impeller fingers 3 toward the driven member 1 and the other away therefrom. In the preferred arrangement illustrated, the arrangement and movement of the finger carriers 1- and 5 are such that on each movement thereof the fingers 2 and 3 on opposite sides of the driven member move toward the member while the other impeller fingers move away therefrom. This action is well illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. WVhen the motor members 6 and 7 have moved far enough to bring the contacts 18 and 19 into engagement with one another, the exciting coils 16 and 17 Will be short circuited and the motor magnet 6 and 7 will be deenergized, whereupon they will be drawn apart by the spring action of the plate 8 and its clamping members. This results in moving the impeller fingers fromthe position illustrated in Fig. 5 to the position illustrated in Fig. 6, thereupon imparting a second impulse to the driven member.

By reason of the bending of the impeller fingers, the vibration which results from the action above described will impel the driven .member in the direction toward which the her which it is desired to move, and in order that the claims may be expressed in such language as to include this use of my invention, I have used the expression reaction member to define the element against which the impeller fingers act.

What I claim is;

1. A frictional impulse motor having a reaction member with a friction surface, a flexible impeller finger bent in the direction in which force is to be applied to the reaction member and positioned for frictional engagement with the friction surface thereof during the impelling movement, and vibratory means continuously imparting vibrations of small amplitude to the impeller finger; substantially as described.

2. A frictional impulse motor having a reaction member with a friction surface, a pair of flexible impeller fingers bent in the direction in which force is to be applied to the reaction member and positioned for frictional engagement with the friction surface thereof during the impelling movement, and vibratory means continuously imparting impelling vibrations of small amplitude to said fingers alternately; substantially as described.

3. A frictional impulse motor having a flat reaction member with friction surfaces disposed on opposite faces, a pair of flexible impeller fingers bent in the direction in which force is to be applied to the reaction member and positioned for frictional engagement with both friction surfaces during the impelling movements, and vibratory means continuously imparting vibrations of small amplitude to said fingers, substantially as described.

1. A frictional impulse motor having a reaction member with friction surfaces, a plurality of flexible impeller fingers arranged in pairs and bent in the direction in which force is to be applied to the reaction member, a common support for each pair of fingers so positioned that the fingers are adapted for frictional engagement with the friction surfaces of the reaction member during the impelling movements, and vibratory means continuously imparting vibrations of small amplitude to said fingers; substantially as described.

5. An impulse motor having a reaction member, a pair of motor members, a spring tending to bring the motor members into one position, means for moving the motor members against-the action of the spring, and flexible impeller fingers carried by said motor members and positioned to make frictional contact with the reaction member alternately, as the motor members move under the action of said means and said spring; substantially as described.

6. A frictional impulse motor having a reaction member with a friction surface, a pair of magnet members, a spring tending to hold the magnet members in one posi tion, flexible impeller fingers carried by the magnet members and positioned for frietional engagement with the friction surface of the reaction member, an exciting winding for the magnet members, and connections supplying rapid impulses of current to said winding, whereby the magnet members and the impeller fingers are rapidly vibrated; substantially as described.

7. An impulse motor having a reaction member, a pair of magnet members, a spring tending to hold the magnet members in one position, and impeller fingers carried by the magnet members and positioned to make contact with the reaction member, an exciting winding for the magnet members, electrical connections for supplying current to said winding, and trembler contacts carried by said magnet members and shunting said exciting winding, whereby the magnet members and the impeller fingers are rapidly vibrated; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

LESLIE R. MCDONALD.

Witnesses:

DEAN S EDMONDS. KATHARINE SOHERZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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